This will give the anit hunter community,the animal rights community of ND a chance to get thier foot in the door to shut down all hunting and shooting in the future.
This should devide the landownerws and the hunters at a good time of the year just before hunting season.

This will get to be very nasty when the out of state money from animal rights group starts to flow into ND.

Fair Chase Petitions Delivered to ND Secretary of State
Fair Chase group expecting strong opposition from high fence operations before ballot

By Bill Mitzel

The Fair Chase Committee of North Dakota presented 13,860 signatures to Secretary of State Al Jaeger on August 4 in an effort to get the measure opposing the captive hunting of native and exotic big game animals to the vote of the people. If approved by Jaeger’s office, the measure will appear on the November 2 ballot.

Such high fence operations are presently illegal in nearly half of the states in the US. The committee, led by Roger Kaseman of Bismarck, worked all year long to gather the signatures, setting up booths at public events. Kaseman said once the process of fair chase was explained to people, the signatures came easy. He said high fence hunting, or canned hunting as it is often called, involves ethical problems, among other things, that threatens the image of legitimate hunting throughout America and now North Dakota.

Traditional hunting does not involve hunting animals inside fences, as canned hunting provides. High fence hunting usually involving deer and elk, is pay-to-kill, often at huge sums going into thousands of dollars. There are about a dozen such operations in North Dakota, though there are over a 100 that produce deer and elk meat commercially and do not provide hunting. Such operations would not be affected by the measure on the upcoming ballot in November.

During his efforts across the state, Kaseman encountered a number of experiences involving the signature gathering process, including verbal confrontations, attempts at sabotaging the process, accusations of being connected with animal rights and more, most coming from a small group of high fence hunting operations. For the most part though, he explained, people are energetically opposed to such operations when they know what’s involved.

“The reaction from the people was very positive,” said Gary Masching, a member of the committee gathering signatures. “People were thanking us for doing this. When we showed them Article 11, Section 27 of the North Dakota Constitution they would look at that and bring more people over to sign. I would say it was running 75-80 percent of people wanted to sign this and get rid of it.”

While the game farms have promoted the initiated measure is a violation of their property rights, Article 11, Section 27 proclaims the right of the public to preserve and manage wild game for the public good.

The North Dakota Board of Animal Health regulates the canned hunting operations, as well as those exclusively in meat production, and at times has had its hands full in dealing with escaped animals who’ve caused damage on other property, in addition to presenting a potential health hazard from disease. Captive animals must be marked by their owners, but through the years have escaped their pens in various numbers.

For example, a report from members of the big game staff at state Game and Fish Department on June 10, 2002, highlights just some of the problems.

Said the report: “On June 4 we became aware of an instance involving dead captive animals found in a pit. At least eight of the 112 were adults with visible ear tags. None of the heads had been removed for CWD testing as required by North Dakota Board of Animal Health. This instance is disturbingly similar to a newspaper story from Colorado where a rancher reported losing elk to lightening strikes. Later, elk from this herd tested positive for CWD.”

Dozens upon dozens of other reports are on file that show escaped penned animals in which officials from various agencies had to help recapture. The animal owner is obligated to round up the animals when they escape but that isn’t always done. Some escaped animals have also traveled across state lines.

The Orlan Mertz commercial operation near Goodrich, known as the Sheyenne Valley Lodge, which was shut down and prosecuted in the fall of 2005 for extensive illegal activity, was regularly dealing with escaped animals according to filed reports, which often were not recovered and had the potential to join wild herds. In fact, a report from Jacquie Ermer to several officials in enforcement and other agencies, said:

“In a letter dated June 12, 2003, Dr. Schuler of the Board of Animal Health reported that farmed elk had escaped from the Orlan Mertz facility near Goodrich on May 23, 2003. Because Mr. Mertz was unable to recapture all of the elk that had escaped, Dr. Schuler authorized the Game and Fish Dept. and the USDA-Wildlife Services to seize, capture, or destroy the escaped elk belonging to Mr. Mertz. As of today, not all elk have been recovered.”

The report continued: “After a recent facility inventory inspection, Dr. Susan Keller (ND Deputy State Veterinarian) has notified me that the 26 elk are still at large and G&F is still authorized to seize, capture, or destroy the escaped elk. FYI, one elk was destroyed in northwestern MN a few weeks ago and a hunter killed one of the escaped elk near Walhalla last hunting season. A couple of elk were destroyed near Wilton by Wildlife Services personnel shortly after the escape last year. The remaining elk could be anywhere.”

The threat of captive elk joining a wild herd is not considered a viable option. There is also an understanding that free-ranging animals from a wild herd are sometimes killed in the process of trying to capture escaped animals.

“They (game farm operations) are subject to inspection when they set up the operation, they are subject to inspection a year later, and then every other year,” Kaseman said. “A lot of things happen over a year’s time, animals dying, animals escaping. I’ll tell you this. The Board of Animal Health does not have a handle on this. And if they do, that handle is very slippery.”

Large horns are a valuable commodity in the black market, Kaseman explained. Good breeding stock is also highly prized.

From the standpoint of the petition and trying to get the decision on high fence hunting to the vote of the people, Kasemen said he’s anticipating a strong battle between now and November.

“They’re going to launch a dirty campaign like has never been seen in this state,” he said. “It’s going to be personal and it’s going to be ugly. There were radio commercials on the air while we were at the state fair, they didn’t name us by our group, just “a” group collecting signatures, and then they went on to attack, trying to align us with The Humane Society of the United States and their agenda. According to my information, I was accused of being a member of the The Humane Society specifically sent into North Dakota to lead the effort to outlaw, not just their operations, but all hunting, all animal agriculture, circuses, and rodeos.”

“They accused us of being East Coast fanatics trying to get rid of all hunting and property rights,” said Masching.

Kaseman said he anticipated such degradation and prepared for it.

At the State Fair, Kaseman said he also dealt with those who approached his booth to sign the petition, who were obviously under the legal age of 18. The efforts were made by the canned hunting group, he believes, to be able to allege signature fraud in the lawsuit Kaseman says is coming from the commercial operations. No signatures are valid from anyone under 18.

Though the North Dakota legislature has bypassed issues relating to canned hunting in recent sessions, they did pass HB 1110 which eliminated feral hog commercial hunting under the exotic animals sections of the law. Masching said that passage mirrors what his group are trying to do.

“The vote was, House 72 yeas, 19 nays, 3 absent,” said Masching. “It passed the Senate 46-1, and that one was absent. What it says is that you can’t propagate, you can’t release, you can’t do what we’re trying to do with the elk and deer. They did that with feral swine. There were two infestations in the state, in the Turtle Mountains and the Badlands, and there were sportsman’s dollars sent there trying to eradicate them.”

“Hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Kaseman reiterated.

The feral swine were brought in from out of state for purposes of canned hunting, Kaseman explained, and some escaped creating a safety hazard for people and other problems. A campaign was launched to locate them, and some likely remain in the wild.

Kaseman said he expects a lawsuit from the high fence hunting group, and in fact, it may have been served as this is read. Once the petition signatures are accepted so that a ballot measure becomes reality in November, the problem then falls under state control.

“The Attorney General is going to have to defend it (at that point),” Kaseman explained. He believes the basis for their lawsuit will be fraud.

“We’re going to be able to show that there was no wrongdoing,” Masching said of the lawsuit if it’s filed. “We can account for all the people who were at the venues, and I think it (the lawsuit) will be a help to us, as has some of their other slander.

eyexer Said:
I don't believe there's anybody that believes that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on feral hog hunting in ND. LMFAO

Just curious, but while I too had raised eyebrows at the "hundreds of thousands" passage, it left me wondering just how much of our license fees went to combat the feral hogs and elk. And, even more importantly, how much would be considered reasonable.

Do you have an idea of what should be a reasonable monetary burden on the NDGF (hunters) in the form of tracking down and removing feral species that escape from HFH operations?

“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.” ~ Mark Twain

eyexer Said:
I don't believe there's anybody that believes that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on feral hog hunting in ND. LMFAO

Just curious, but while I too had raised eyebrows at the "hundreds of thousands" passage, it left me wondering just how much of our license fees went to combat the feral hogs and elk. And, even more importantly, how much would be considered reasonable.

Do you have an idea of what should be a reasonable monetary burden on the NDGF (hunters) in the form of tracking down and removing feral species that escape from HFH operations?

I think they killed them all in the badlands, within a couple days if i remember correctly. Turtle mountains im not sure about. I imagine the Turtle mountains would take a little more time and cost a little more money than the badlands.

eyexer Said:
I don't believe there's anybody that believes that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on feral hog hunting in ND. LMFAO

Just curious, but while I too had raised eyebrows at the "hundreds of thousands" passage, it left me wondering just how much of our license fees went to combat the feral hogs and elk. And, even more importantly, how much would be considered reasonable.

Do you have an idea of what should be a reasonable monetary burden on the NDGF (hunters) in the form of tracking down and removing feral species that escape from HFH operations?

$0.00!!! that is the reasonable monetary burden the GF should bear if an animal escapes. but, i am pretty sure the rules and regulations that are in place already put that burden on the HFH owner/operator. even if it is not, it wouldn't take a lot of effort to get a judge to order reimbursement.

Yeah, I don't remember hearing that they had a lot of trouble killing off the Badlands batch of hogs. So let's say that 2 guys spent a total of 4 days (probably a gross underestimation) working on this (between the office and field) and they had to come out of Bismarck. I don't know what the salary is for a typical NDGF employee that would be used for such a task, but assuming it wasn't the janitor it's probably safe to say that salary and benefits run about $30 an hour. So 2 x 4 x 8 x 30 = $1920 for salary. I suppose there are some other costs like per diem for living in a hotel, maybe another few hundred.

So perhaps the Badlands bunch was taken care of for less than $3,000. If the Turtle Mountain herd was 5 times as difficult, we would be talking about another $15,000 in pig removal.

Only thing I am left with is the author of the story (or Kaseman) may have gotten it wrong and that the entire budget spent for ALL feral animals was $100k (the missing elk would suggest a much larger effort that eventually proved futile).

So again I am left wondering how much of our license fees spent on this "ag" problem is too much?

“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.” ~ Mark Twain

It looks like Dakota Country is kissing Roger Kaseman's rear end. Well, Dakota Country, you can kiss my rear end. I won't be buying your magazine anymore, there are better publications out there that realize the importance of property owner's rights. Unless of course, they are pushing for everything to be posted land.

As for your calculations Allen, that seems within the realm however i'm sure they used helicopters or planes to locate the swine then probably had to remove or extract the carcasses and dispose of them. That would add significantly to the cost but still, hundreds of thousands seems quite expensive.

Wait, I just realized they were shooting govt issue ammo so those are like $11 per round. And if they needed a toilet seat to mount on the hitch for "emergency" control that would add approximately $1,647 or something like that.

13,860 people can be wrong, can be lied to, and can be idiots. 13860 people is a very small number, 2% of the population? 2% doesn't pass anything. Let's see if his lies fool the rest of the state come November. Let the fight begin.

Wow, how egotistical. He is really self impressed. I hope if he fails this time he'll realize he's "not all that" and give up his anti movement. Oh wait, he's sponsoring the anti-baiting measure coming up...How silly of me to think a pest would simply go away.

Allen Said:
Yeah, I don't remember hearing that they had a lot of trouble killing off the Badlands batch of hogs. So let's say that 2 guys spent a total of 4 days (probably a gross underestimation) working on this (between the office and field) and they had to come out of Bismarck. I don't know what the salary is for a typical NDGF employee that would be used for such a task, but assuming it wasn't the janitor it's probably safe to say that salary and benefits run about $30 an hour. So 2 x 4 x 8 x 30 = $1920 for salary. I suppose there are some other costs like per diem for living in a hotel, maybe another few hundred.

So perhaps the Badlands bunch was taken care of for less than $3,000. If the Turtle Mountain herd was 5 times as difficult, we would be talking about another $15,000 in pig removal.

Only thing I am left with is the author of the story (or Kaseman) may have gotten it wrong and that the entire budget spent for ALL feral animals was $100k (the missing elk would suggest a much larger effort that eventually proved futile).

So again I am left wondering how much of our license fees spent on this "ag" problem is too much?

Well the game and fish guys make about $8.50-13 and hour. The hotels and gas money would probably be the most expensive.

Allen, a friend of mine from western ND shared a story of how to capture wild pigs. You go out and place a little corn in a pile, the next day after the pigs have ate the corn you put out a little more. Then you start building a pen a piece at a time around your corn. You continue to give the wild pigs a little more corn every day as you finish your pen. As you continue to give the pigs more and more corn, they eventually become dependent on the corn and slowly start quitting foraging for food on their own .Each day the pigs become a little more use to the pen you are slowly building around them and tolerate it because of the corn you provide. . Eventually as the pigs have become completely dependent on the corn you give them, and even the little piglets have not been taught how to forage because of the corn you have provided, all the pigs end up in your pen. You simply shut the gate behind them and you can at that time do anything you may wish to or with the pigs.

Wait a minute, maybe it wasn't a story about catching pigs at all but merely a comentary on todays society.

Now that this measure is not conjecture I have a couple simple questions that so far only one person supporting this measure has answered.

1. Should the creation of ND law be based on truth and fact?
2. Who will hold these sponsors to that standard?

And now that if a majority of people do vote in favor of this measure and it becomes law, perhaps someone that factually knows should truthfully explain step by step how it will be implemented as law, and the process by which it will be carried out. I don't think that is too much to ask.

I don't know if it is just me, but I would prefer someone a little less childish bringing forth the laws that could potentially govern the people of this state.

I don't think it is just you gst,but I do wonder if this is the type of spokesman and leadership people like Jim Higgeness,Ron Gillmore,and 2 govenment employess
David Brant and Lloyd Jones,condone this type of behavior. Is this just a personall vendita?

In all honesty it wouldnt cost a thing. Just advertise that there are feral hogs running around and that we want them shot and I'd bet within a couple weeks they would be extinguished.

Allen Said:

eyexer Said:
I don't believe there's anybody that believes that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on feral hog hunting in ND. LMFAO

Just curious, but while I too had raised eyebrows at the "hundreds of thousands" passage, it left me wondering just how much of our license fees went to combat the feral hogs and elk. And, even more importantly, how much would be considered reasonable.

Do you have an idea of what should be a reasonable monetary burden on the NDGF (hunters) in the form of tracking down and removing feral species that escape from HFH operations?

gst Said:
Allen, a friend of mine from western ND shared a story of how to capture wild pigs. You go out and place a little corn in a pile, the next day after the pigs have ate the corn you put out a little more. Then you start building a pen a piece at a time around your corn. You continue to give the wild pigs a little more corn every day as you finish your pen. As you continue to give the pigs more and more corn, they eventually become dependent on the corn and slowly start quitting foraging for food on their own .Each day the pigs become a little more use to the pen you are slowly building around them and tolerate it because of the corn you provide. . Eventually as the pigs have become completely dependent on the corn you give them, and even the little piglets have not been taught how to forage because of the corn you have provided, all the pigs end up in your pen. You simply shut the gate behind them and you can at that time do anything you may wish to or with the pigs.

Wait a minute, maybe it wasn't a story about catching pigs at all but merely a comentary on todays society.

Now that this measure is not conjecture I have a couple simple questions that so far only one person supporting this measure has answered.

1. Should the creation of ND law be based on truth and fact?
2. Who will hold these sponsors to that standard?

And now that if a majority of people do vote in favor of this measure and it becomes law, perhaps someone that factually knows should truthfully explain step by step how it will be implemented as law, and the process by which it will be carried out. I don't think that is too much to ask.

I thought I recognized that story, it was from my book "How To Catch A Liberal"

beedoggs1 Said:
It looks like Dakota Country is kissing Roger Kaseman's ass. Well, Dakota Country, you can kiss my ass. I won't be buying your magazine anymore, there are better publications out there that realize the importance of property owner's rights. Unless of course, they are pushing for everything to be posted land.

After that story Bill Mitzel should rename his magazine the National Enquirer of Dakota Country.

For the most part though, he explained, people are energetically opposed to such operations when they know what’s involved.

“The reaction from the people was very positive,” said Gary Masching, a member of the committee gathering signatures. “People were thanking us for doing this. When we showed them Article 11, Section 27 of the North Dakota Constitution they would look at that and bring more people over to sign. I would say it was running 75-80 percent of people wanted to sign this and get rid of it.”

While the game farms have promoted the initiated measure is a violation of their property rights, Article 11, Section 27 proclaims the right of the public to preserve and manage wild game for the public good.

Now for you supporters of this measure, here in black and white is an example of the disingenuous statements that these sponsors have now admitted to making in gathering signatures. These "farmed elk" do NOT fall under the scope of Article 11, Section 27 as they are not defined as "wild game"any where in the NDCC. To give the impression they are is if not a direct lie, at the very least a disingenuous statement. The website of this FCgroup makes a specific effort to paint the picture these animals are not "wild game" but completely tame animals(the picture of the little girl feeding an deer an apple) but yet they tell the public they are "wild game. And now a sponsor (
Gary Masching, who now admits to stretching the truth as much as some of the other sponsors) admits to telling the public these animals are" wild game" covered under this article. Please give a "rational" "logical" reason why this is not disingenuousl;y promoting their measure.

Nebraska passed a law banning the shooting of feral swine period. Because they learned from Missouris' experiance. Across the river in Missouri the game and fish enlisted the sportsmen for help in eradicating feral swine. The problem kept getting worse. They finally figured out it was feral swine enthusiasts who were propagating, trapping and moving the pigs around. There is no season, no limits and no license required. Some people found it more fun than hunting whitetalis and quit hunting deer altogether.

Maybe Mauser could add or shed some light on this.

In ND, according to the Non-Tradional Livestock list, there is only one white guy raising Russian Wild Boar. He is near New Rockford. What he does with them I don't know. The rest of the owners of these types of pigs are Native American.

Gary Masching in the Dakota Country arcticle said,

﻿Though the North Dakota legislature has bypassed issues relating to canned hunting in recent sessions, they did pass HB 1110 which eliminated feral hog commercial hunting under the exotic animals sections of the law. Masching said that passage mirrors what his group are trying to do.

This is a piece of fiction. Somehow Gary Masching has trouble making the distinction between privately owned animals that are raised for food and fiber and animals that are free roaming.

The truth.

North Dakota H.B.1110This bill establishes that the state board of animal health is responsible for the control and eradication of feral swine on state and private lands in North Dakota. It defines “feral swine” as a “hog, boar or pig that appears to be untamed or undomesticated; appears to have reverted from a domesticated to a wild state; and is freeroaming.” The bill prohibits the import, transport or possession of live feral swine and outlines provisions for notifying the board of the presence of feral swine. The bill also prohibits the hunting or trapping of feral swine by anyone other than a state or federal agency or person authorized by a state or federal agency to engage in the control or eradication of feral swine.